


A Greenberg By Any Other Name

by tabbytabbytabby



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Getting Together, Greenberg's Name Is Zac, Humor, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 13:43:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17305652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: The five times someone calls Zac "Greenberg" assuming it's his name, and the one time someone corrects them





	A Greenberg By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

> Today I told myself to just write what makes me happy, and this happened. So apparently I just want to write a lot of Greenberg.  
> This has not been beta read, so any mistakes are my own. If you see any please let me know and I'll get them fixed.

**1.**

To say that Zac is nervous about his first day of high school would be an understatement. In middle school he’d managed to get by unnoticed and stay off the radar of the bigger kids. He knows high school is a completely different arena, as his father has insisted on telling him repeatedly.

The first half of the day isn’t too bad. He has English and History, two subjects he enjoys. During lunch, he has it a little harder, trying to find a place to sit. He’s walking around, debating if he should just venture outside when a hand on his arm stops him. He looks down to see Danny Mahealani smiling at him.

“Hey Zac. Want to sit here?”

Zac looks around, almost expecting to see people watching them. No one is. He turns back to Danny, and gives a hesitant smile as he puts his tray on the table and sits down, “Thanks.”

Danny shrugs, “No problem.”

Danny asks him about his day, and what the rest of his schedule is. They discover they have biology together next period and algebra and PE together tomorrow. Zac feels a little relieved. He likes Danny. He’s nice. Having him in class definitely makes biology easier.

His last class of the day is one he has been looking forward to. An intro to theater. He loves acting. When he saw the class as an option he knew he had to sign up for it. The class is surprisingly full when he walks in. The only spots left are in the front, so he takes one. It’s fine.

It’s a few minutes after the bell when a man comes rushing into the room. His hair is in disarray, and his eyes big and wide. Zac thinks he looks a little crazed. Granted, most theater people tend to be a little eccentric. Or so he’s heard.

“Alright you little delinquents,” the man says, turning to face them. He eyes each of them in turn and Zac tries not to squirm when the intense gaze lands on him. He relaxes when the man looks away and grabs a dry erase marker to write on the board. “My name is Coach Finstock, but you all can call me Coach. Everyone else does.” When he’s done he turns to face the class again, crossing his arms as he leans against the front of his desk. “God, loom at all of you. I get you’re all here to get an easy A. Or does anyone one here actually like theater?”

Zac raises his hand, fighting the urge to sink down into his seat at the snickers from his classmates. “I do, sir. Umm… I mean Coach.”

“One person in this whole damn class,” Coach says, shaking his head. “Sorry to disappoint you kid, as much as I love theater, these kids aren’t going to make this class very exciting for you.”

He moves along and starts taking attendance. When he gets to Zac’s name, Zac frowns.

“Zac Greenberg?”

No one else responds, and Zac realizes he must be addressing him. He raises his hand, “That’s me, but Greenberg isn’t my…”

Coach is already moving along before Zac can finish. The kid behind him snickers and kicks his chair, “Hey _Greenberg_.”

Zac sighs, realizing this was probably going to become a thing now.  
  


* * *

 

**2.**

It’s sophomore year, and Zac has for some reason decided it would be a good idea to try out for the lacrosse team. Well he knows the reason. It’s Danny. He wants an excuse to spend more time with him. Which is nowhere near as creepy as it sounds. He just thinks Danny is cute. And funny. And one of the few people that notices him. Okay so he might have a little bit of a crush on him. Sue him. How could someone spend any time with Danny and not find themselves drawn to him?

So here Zac is, running laps on the lacrosse field as Coach yells at him about being a disgrace to the name Greenberg. It’s all pretty laughable, really. Considering his last name isn’t even Greenberg.

Jackson Whittemore runs by him, letting out a loud obnoxious laugh as he shoves Zac and sends him landing face first in the dirt. Zac glares at him as he gets to his feet.

“You should watch where you’re walking,” Jackson says, being even more annoying as he runs backwards.

He lets out a yell when Coach Finstock grabs him by the back of his tank top, “Whittemore! Five extra laps for you!” He releases Jackson and points ahead of him, “Now!”

Jackson starts sputtering in disbelief, “Coach! I didn’t…”

“I saw what you did,” Coach tells him. “And Greenberg might be a disgrace but we’re not bullies on this team. Do you hear me?”

Jackson narrows his eyes but doesn’t say anything. He turns and starts off around the track again. He meets up with Danny, who shakes his head when Jackson starts complaining.

Coach sees Greenberg still standing there and blows his whistle, “Get a move on Greenberg! Or have your legs stopped working?”

“They work fine Coach,” Zac sighs, ignoring the twinge from the cuts on his knees as he starts running.

When Jackson reaches him again, he slows down, speaking in a low voice, “You better watch your back Greenberg.”

Zac suppresses a sigh as he watches Jackson take off again.  
  


* * *

 

**3.**

Zac isn’t sure it’s high school that is hell, or Beacon Hills itself. Probably a little bit of both. He’s doing his best, despite the fact that Jackson seems intent on helping Coach torment him. He only does it when he’s out of sight of Danny, of course. The first time Danny had seen Jackson shove him against a locker, Jackson had found himself under Danny’s stern, and disapproving gaze as Danny told him to apologize. He had done so, before storming off and muttering under his breath. Unfortunately, that had just made it worse.

So Zac does his best to avoid Jackson. It’s easy since they don’t have any classes together this semester, but it’s in the halls and at lacrosse practice that he has to worry. Or more like _after_ lacrosse practice. Since Jackson is on his best behavior during. Zac had tried waiting until everyone was done before going in to change, but Jackson had waited for him and shoved him in one of the lockers, leaving him there until Coach came in a few hours later and found him. Coach had simply shook his head and went to his office, disappointed when Zac wouldn’t tell him who did it.

“You have to stand up for yourself Greenberg,” he’d called as Zac left the locker room a few minutes later. That’s easier said than done.

He’s walking the halls with his head ducked, trying to make himself as small as possible, which hasn’t been easy since his growth spurt. He startles when suddenly someone appears in front of him, and winds up dropping his books.

When he drops to his knees to grab his books and notices the 6 inch red heels in front of him, he feels his heart drop. There aren’t a lot of people that would wear heels like that to school. In fact, it’s usually just one person. Lydia Martin. Jackson Whittemore’s girlfriend.

“Excuse me,” Lydia says, sounding impatient.

Zac looks up at her and tries not to grimace, “Yes?”

Lydia gives a put upon sigh, and brushes her hair off her shoulder. “You’re kind of in my way.”

She taps her foot impatiently, and Zac looks around them, raising an eyebrow when he notices the hall is clear and she could easily go around him. Shaking his head, he gets to his feet and moves out of the way, “Sorry Lydia.”

She eyes him curiously, “Do I know you?”

“We’ve been in the same grade since kindergarten,” Zac tells her. “I’m Zac…”

Her eyes widen, “Oh! You’re Greenberg.” She frowns. “You’re the one Jackson is always bitching about and taking up time that could be spent paying attention to me.”

“Sorry?”

“You should be,” Lydia says. “Jackson has better things he could be doing with that time. And mouth of his.”

She walks off without another word, leaving Zac to stare after her.  
  


* * *

 

**4.**

Zac pulls his jacket tighter around him. He’s not cold, but what he saw tonight had definitely left him with a chill running through him. There was a lizard, or something that resembled one. It had just started going after people inside.

All Zac could focus on was trying to get to Danny. Danny who had invited Zac out, saying he needed to blow off some steam. Who had disappeared shortly after they arrived with a boy Zac didn’t recognize. Zac had tried to ignore the flare of jealousy he felt at seeing them dancing and kissing.

Danny is alright. A little banged up, but fine. That’s what matters.

There’s a lot of commotion outside as people get looked over and talk to the cops. Zac waits, knowing they’re going to want a statement from him. He notices Danny talking to Stiles Stilinski and Scott McCall before being loaded into the ambulance. Somehow he’s not surprised they’re here.

“Son?”

Zac looks up at the voice of the Sheriff, to find the man standing in front of him. “Yes sir?”

“Can you tell me your name son?”

Zac nods, “Yeah it’s Zac Green…”

“Greenberg!” Sheriff Stilinski snaps his fingers and smiles down at him. “You’re the one Bobby talks about.”

“Bobby?” Zac questions, feeling confused.

“Coach Finstock,” the Sheriff clarifies. “You’re the subject of many of his rants, and believe me, there are a lot.”

Zac doesn’t doubt it, but he’s not going to agree with the man. “I didn’t know you knew Coach Finstock.”

What he means is, he doesn’t know they knew each other enough for Coach to talk about him. But honestly, Coach would probably rant to someone in the grocery store about watermelon being a vegetable. So him ranting to the Sheriff shouldn’t be a surprise. What _is_ surprising is the interesting shade of red the Sheriff’s face takes and the way he suddenly wants to change the subject.

“So did you see anything in there?”

He’s about to say something about the giant lizard he saw, but something tells him the Sheriff won’t believe him, and will probably be the one ranting about that crazy kid Greenberg hallucinating giant lizards. That’s the last thing he needs. So he just shakes his head, and feels grateful when all the Sheriff does is tell him to get home safe.  
  


* * *

   
 **5.**

Malia Tate is more than a little bit terrifying, and not just because she’s some form of were creature. By now, Zac is more than used to the werewolves in this town, and the people that come with them. So when he sees Malia growling and flashing her eyes, it’s just another part of his day.

No, it’s the overall intensity and demeanor of Malia that is terrifying. He doesn’t know her whole story, just that they found her after years of her being missing, and apparently she’d been living in the woods. He knows there’s more to it than that, but he’s not exactly going to ask. People don’t know he’s aware of the supernatural and he’s going to leave it that way. It’s better. He’s less likely to be dragged into some shit.

It’s senior year and he just wants to make it out of here alive and in one piece. He wants to go off to college and see Danny again. They’ve been talking about it for months, and he’s not going to get killed before that can happen.

He’s sitting on the second floor of the library trying to study for his calculus exam when he hears commotion in the hallway. He sighs and shakes his head. He’s not going to go look. Whatever is going on out there is none of his business.

Suddenly the door comes flying open and someone comes flying in, landing with a crash on one of the tables, causing it to break. There’s more of the school’s budget being spent on things that have mysteriously broken. Malia Tate comes running into the room shortly after, looking every bit as terrifying as Zac knows she is.

Zac gets up quietly and moves to the shelves. He ducks down and tries to stay out of view as he listens to the events unfold below. He knows better than to watch. He doesn’t want anyone to see him and to get dragged into it.

There’s more growling and the sound of things breaking, and at one point a particularly pained howl that has Zac grimacing. When it goes silent again, he’s left sitting there, waiting with bated breath to be left alone. He doesn’t know who Malia was fighting, but he feels a little bad for them. Zac knows Malia usually comes out on top.

He waits a few minutes, sitting there in silence with his back against the shelves. When he doesn’t hear anything else he slowly gets to his feet and moves towards the railing to look down at the scene below. At least 5 of the tables are broken, and from the looks of it, so is the man Malia was fighting, though he seems to be breathing.

Malia is laying on her back a few feet away. She’s breathing heavily and her eyes are still a blazing blue. That gaze turns to Zac and he barely stops himself from jumping back. She narrows his eyes, “Well gee, thanks for the help Greenberg.”

“You seemed to have it handled,” Zac says. “And what was I supposed to do? Throw books at his head?”

She rolls her eyes and gets to her feet, though she’s smiling. “Next time, yeah. Just try not to aim for my head.”

Zac gives a mock salute, and she laughs. “You should leave before they come to clean this up.”

“What about him?” Zac asks, gesturing to the man who’s still unconscious on the floor.

“Someone is coming for him,” Malia says. “But you don’t want to be here if he wakes up.”

He nods, and grabs his books from the table, putting them into his backpack. Malia is waiting at the door when he comes down. “What were you studying anyway?”

“Calculus,” Zac says. “I have a test on Friday.”

Malia groans, “I fucking hate math.”

Zac knows better than to tell her he actually likes it. Instead he just laughs and continues to walk with her towards the exit. When they reach the steps, she takes off towards where Scott McCall is waiting next to the powder blue jeep. Scott looks surprised to see him, but doesn’t do anything other than wave.

Malia waves a hand over her shoulder as she goes, “See you around Greenberg. I look forward to dodging books.”  
  


* * *

 

**+1**

Zac’s back home after two years of being away, and is pleased that Danny is too. It had taken some convincing but the other had agreed to come back. Apparently seeing his old friends was enough incentive.

Which is how Zac finds himself spending time at Derek Hale’s house, with the members of the Beacon Hills pack. Most of them Zac knows, but there are a few new faces. There are so many people here, everyone coming together to celebrate the end of the war. It’s a little overwhelming.

His eyes scan the room, and he finds Danny sitting on the couch next to Jackson. He takes a deep breath and moves across the room, taking the spot next to him. Danny smiles brightly at him, before focusing back on the conversation with Jackson.

He finds himself pulled into a conversation with Scott, who has questions about life in Massachusetts. Zac relaxes, and starts talking about how nice it is there, and how it’s a totally different place than Beacon Hills. Something he’s glad for.

“The company isn’t bad either,” Zac jokes.

Danny shifts closer on the couch until they’re sitting shoulder to shoulder and leans in close to speak, “You have to say that because we live together.”

“If you were a bad roommate, it would be a good excuse to bitch about you,” Zac tells him.

“With me sitting right here?”

“Nah, I’d wait until you left the room.”

Danny chuckles, and surprises Zac by resting his head on his arm. It’s not as if they haven’t had physical contact like this before. But it’s usually alone.

“Relax,” Danny tells him, his voice soft.

“I am,” Zac lies.

When he looks down, he wishes he hadn't. Danny’s looking right at him, “You are,” Danny says. “If you want me to move…”

“No,” Zac says, a little too quickly. “No, it’s okay.”

Danny smiles and moves his arm around Zac’s hip, leaving Zac with no choice but to wrap an arm around Danny’s shoulder’s if he wants either of them to be comfortable.

“Dude, check out Greenberg.”

Zac’s eyes shift to find the pack watching them. It was Stiles that had spoken. He knows it.

"You guys realize that's not actually his last name right?" Danny questions.

Stiles waves him off with a laugh, "Of course that's his name."

Zac feels Danny shaking his head, "No, it's not. His name is Zac Greenbrier"

All eyes turn to Zac, and he tries not to shift uncomfortably. Finally, Lydia speaks up, “Why didn’t you ever correct anyone?”

Zac gives an incredulous laugh, "Have you ever tried correcting Coach before?"

Stiles snorts, “Fair enough. But us?”

“I doubt any of you would have believed me,” Zac says. “You never exactly took me seriously in high school. I was just Greenberg. The poor kid Coach always yelled at.”

“Not to me,” Danny says, squeezing Zac’s hip gently. When Danny lifts his head, Zac looks over at him. “You were always Zac to me.”

Zac realizes he’s right. He can’t remember a single time Danny referred to him as Greenberg, or anything other than Zac. He’s always been the one to see him when no one else did. Zac stares into those warm brown eyes and feels warmth spread through him. Along with that a desire he’s been trying to keep in check for years.

He’s leaning forward and kissing Danny before he can stop himself. He feels Danny smiles against his lips before he pulls back, “Well it’s about time.”

“I never thought…” Zac begins, only to stop when Danny leans in and kisses him again.

“I was waiting for you to catch up,” Danny tells him. “I knew you liked me, but I didn’t know if you were ready yet.”

“I am,” Zac says. He knows the pack is still here, but he doesn’t care.

“Good,” Danny grins.

“So what?” Jackson asks. “You two are together now?”

Danny meets his eyes, a silent question in them, and Zac nods. He pulls Zac closer as he turns to grin at their friends. “Yeah, we’re together. Guys, this is my boyfriend. Zac.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos/Comments make my day. ♥  
> [My tumblr](http://tabbytabbytabby.tumblr.com/)


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